Karlovy Vary will invest 17.5 million this year in the reconstruction of the Elizabeth Baths

Karlovy Vary - This year, Karlovy Vary will invest 17.5 million crowns into the reconstruction and projects in the Elizabeth Spa. Miroslav Vaněk (Karlovaráci), the deputy mayor, told ČTK this. The plan, which includes the repair of part of the roof, the swimming pool, the replacement of the transformer station, and thermostatic valves, still needs to be approved by the councilors on June 17.

"The board of the Elizabeth Spa has tasked Ms. Bartoňková, the director, to address the most urgent repairs and emergency situations within the building. Based on this proposal, the council approved the mentioned projects and recommended them for approval to the councilors. At this moment, it concerns about 17.5 million crowns that are absolutely necessary for us to repair the roof first," the deputy described the priorities.

According to their director, Miluše Bartoňková, the roof of the Elizabeth Spa is in an emergency state. Therefore, the repairs have been divided into eight phases. "In the first phase of the reconstruction, we will repair three parts of the roof, primarily in areas where unfortunately water has been leaking into the building for a long time, and the truss structure is thus irreversibly damaged. This concerns the section leading to Bulgarian Street, its central part, and the southern and northern pavilions," Bartoňková told ČTK. The cost, according to project documentation acquired in 2021, taking into account the increase in material and construction work prices, is nearly 11 million crowns.

Another project is the high-voltage transformer station. According to the director, the change in the electricity distribution network will bring an annual savings of about 370,000 crowns. The management of the spa estimates the cost of the new transformer station at approximately 1.9 million crowns. The replacement of thermostatic valves throughout the building, costing about half a million crowns, should also contribute to energy savings. There are 290 radiators throughout the Elizabeth Spa. Other minor repairs in the interiors of the spa and in the indoor pool are also planned.

"We would like to use over two million crowns to establish a clinic for the prevention and treatment of civilization diseases. There are no similar health and educational institutions in the region combining the fields of obesity, physiotherapy, psychology, nutritional therapy, and sports medicine," Bartoňková said.

For these priority needs of the Elizabeth Spa, the city is counting on transferring 15 million from the SPLZAK company (Administration of Natural Healing Sources and Colonnades). It was supposed to be used for repairs of the colonnades in their budget, which they will not complete on time this year, Vaněk said. Another 2.5 million crowns are free funds from the city budget.

The Elizabeth Spa has been consistently losing money, with the city contributing 20 million crowns annually to its operation. There were thus no funds for necessary investments, and the city was considering selling the building. However, the planned sale of the monument-protected building, which multinational companies operating a chain of hotels were interested in, fell through last year. Since this spring, the Institute of Spa and Balneology has also been located in the building. In the future, the city is considering placing an information center on the ground floor of the Elizabeth Spa.